These are the stories of a gardener and her adventures in and sometimes out of her eclectic and eccentric garden in a suburb of Houston, Texas.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Greetings from Lake Langton!

When we asked Mother Nature for rain, the Head Gardener and I forgot to include a request that said rain be of the long, slow, soaking-in variety. We won't forget next time. When the rain finally slowed to a light drizzle, I stepped outside with my camera and took a few pictures to share.

Looking west from the front gate

According to a Weather Underground station based in my subdivision, we have received 4.41 inches of rain this morning. Most of that rain fell within a 90 minute period. When the rain began to fall in earnest, I was NOT cozied up on my comfortable sofa cuddling my anxious dog. I was in my little red truck, trundling down the Katy Freeway towards home in a torrential thunderstorm. Visibility was about 1/10th of a mile and by the time I made it to the entrance to my neighborhood, the streets were beginning to flood.

Looking north from the sidewalk

It's been a good two years since we've had this kind of flooding in the cul-de-sac. Fortunately the street drains quickly when the rain tapers off. The most disheartening thing about such heavy rain can be how little of it actually soaks into the soil. I'm doing my best to be grateful for that which does soak in.

I stood at the water's high point on the sidewalk to take this southwest-facing shot.

Another band of storms, thankfully MUCH less intense, is passing through as I write. I'm hoping this gentler rainfall will continue off and on throughout the day. No more hail or tornado warnings, please, Mother Nature?

The camera caught a burst of lightning as I looked to the south.

The Head Gardener and I had planned to do some bulb planting this week but we may have to postpone our endeavors until the ground dries out a bit. That's the kind of change in our plans we'd be happy to see. The HG says that we can pull weeds instead: she feels I have been remiss in keeping up with my weeding duties, especially where the chickweed and Poa annua are concerned. We're trying not to think about how many more of those weeds there will be thanks to the rain!

11 comments:

When it rains, it pours, in Katy, anyway, Cindy. I am glad you are getting any kind of rain after the drought you have suffered. This might be when one of those cisterns like at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center could be mighty handy.

My goodness, that looks like a lot. I remember our old street in Houston used to look like that sometimes. We're in for a lot of it too. It hasn't stopped raining here since the morning. I'll be delaying planting a tree I have for at least a week or two!

Yikes! I'm sorry for the scare on the highway (I hate when that happens) and flooding. But after last summer, the plants will love it. And yes, the weeds, too. I sure have a bumper crop! Hope your 2012 is just wonderful and that I see you soon.

Hub said he got 5 inches in the rain gauge on my ranch in Conroe. Thankfully, I got into work in Jersey Village before it all broke out. (I leave Conroe at 5:30 am every day). Yard is really ugly now with all the drowned leaves. Take care!~Carol

I'm sure the rain was welcome, though I hope the next rain comes at a much slower pace. I'm glad you made it home safely, Cindy--driving through a torrential rainstorm can be awfully scary! Gosh, your garden looks so green right now--beautiful!

Wow Cindy! That is so much rain in a short period of time. I know you wish you could save some for a NOT so rainy day! I live not too far from you and I only received two inches. Thunder storms can be so fickle where they drop their rain. I hope this means we will return to a more normal rainfall pattern. Thanks for sharing your garden!

You got twice the rain as we did here in Houston.As to the freezes....they forecasters were all over the map so I played it safe. For fun, here's what they had predicted:source 1: 34 and 38source 2: 31 and 34source 3: 32 and 38source 4: 39 and 30source 5: 30 and 34Actual temps here: 33 and 33. As you can tell, we have to decide our own destinies when it comes to weather! LOLDavid

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Greetings from the Head Gardener!

Welcome to my corner of Katy, a Texas cottage garden on the far west side of Houston. My gardens are filled with a wealth of native and adapted plants to welcome birds, bees and butterflies to this suburban corner lot. I've been gardening here for over 15 years now. As the lawn has shrunk and the gardens have grown, the Head Gardener and I have gained not only knowledge and experience, but friends and compatriots who love gardens and gardening as much as we do. It's both a joy and a privilege to share the garden with neighbors and passersby. You're always welcome to stop and smell the flowers!